Critical Review

Option 1: RAFT / Option 2: RAFT
Role: You are a literary Critic
Audience: Future English II students
Format: A critical review to express your opinion. You will judge one of the works we have read this unit. Support your opinion with textual evidence, and end with whether or not you would recommend it to future students.
Topic: How the author’s use of literary elements which make define the genre of medieval romance affected you appreciation of the work. Why or why not it is a good story. / Role: You are an expert in the field of Medieval Romance Literature
Audience: Sir Thomas Malory (author of Launcelot du Lake, and Crowning of Arthur) or George Steinbeck (Author of Arthur and his Noble Knights).
Format: A formal critique.
Topic: Which of the three stories we read is the “best” or “worst” Medieval Romance tale and why, using the characteristics of the genre as the basis for your decision. You will need to cite specific examples from the text.

Helpful resources: pgs. 829-833 (McDougal Littell textbook)

Reading selections: pgs. 1012-1040 (McDougal Littell textbook)

Genre characteristics: pgs p60 and 1031 (McDougal Littell textbook)

You will be graded on the following:

  1. Ideas ____/20
  2. Presents an opinion statement
  3. Includes an explanation of the criteria used in judging the work
  4. Provides background information to help the reader understand the review
  5. Uses textual evidence to support opinion
  1. Organization ____/20
  2. Identifies the work being analyzed, the judgment criteria, and the opinion statement in the introduction.
  3. Clearly organizes idea into distinct, unified paragraphs
  4. Uses transitions effectively to connect ideas
  5. Summarizes the writer’s opinion in a persuasive call to action in the conclusion
  1. voice ____/10
  2. directs the writing to the appropriate audience
  3. Maintains a tone that matches the writer’s purpose and level of formality
  1. Word Choice ____/5
  2. Uses accurate literary terms to discuss the work and its judgment criteria
  1. Sentence Fluency _____/5
  2. Eliminates sentence fragments and run-ons by punctuating correctly
  1. conventions
  2. employs correct word usage, spelling, and punctuation.

____ /65